Review: RoadCraft (PS5)

It feels like an eternity since we first engaged with Pavel Zagrebelnyy’s innovative off-road simulation, Spintires, when we first heard about it in 2014. Even back then, this detailed and significantly challenging driving experience suggested a unique charm in its combination of punishing mud obstacles and stringent resource management. There was an irresistibly captivating core to this game that elevated it well past its rough edges and glitches, of which there were many.

Mudrunner, a stylish sequel from Saber Interactive (with Zagrebelnyy involved), and its superb successor, SnowRunner, expanded on the concept of maneuvering in the mud with aged vehicles — while dealing with frustration and family chaos.

Then came 2024’s Expeditions: A MudRunner Game, which we now realize, after experiencing the fantastic RoadCraft, was merely the initial step towards a more engaging project from the developers. Expeditions introduced a broader and more captivating world to explore, transforming the landscape from merely difficult into an inviting setting. It also incorporated scouting, camping, and proper management of tools and technology to tackle a wider variety of challenges. The puzzle/driving franchise evolved into something that encompassed more than just the vehicle dynamics in muddy terrains.

Thus, RoadCraft emerges as an astute continuation, intertwining the principles of utilizing tools and managing resources — the essence of survival — into an exhilarating narrative of navigating, cleaning up, and revitalizing areas following devastating natural calamities.

This setup is ideal, offering thrilling opportunities to steer your robust, fully customizable trucks around until they get stuck again, and it enables you to engage with an array of gadgets, tools, and vintage service vehicles to pave roads, restore power and gas supplies, construct bridges, and clear wreckage. Indeed, you name it, and we, at Hideous Corp (our chosen disaster rescue company name), are equipped to deliver it where needed. Once we flip that dozer back upright, you see.

In RoadCraft, you will find eight maps (with additional content upcoming via DLC) to repair and reconnect damaged regions. Saber Interactive emphasizes that this venture, built on an impressively interactive newer version of their proprietary ‘Swarm’ engine, does not serve as a sequel to previous titles, allowing you to engage with and alter your surroundings in unprecedented ways.

Some describe it as a massive toybox full of nostalgic Tonka items coming to life, and we understand that analogy. You have access to a fleet of over 40 vehicles to experiment with in RoadCraft, each meticulously designed in both appearance and functionality — and the game features some remarkably detailed cockpits. You can operate large diggers and bulldozers to clear paths blocked by wrecked cars and trees, maneuver massive cranes to delicately load various construction materials, and transport items across terrains afflicted by rockslides, hurricanes, floods, and numerous other disasters. These individuals should just relocate to the UK; nothing like this occurs here! It could easily be a DLC easy mode.

The same intricate gameplay found in SnowRunner and its peers is present, highlighting the deeply addictive essence that has cultivated a dedicated fanbase over the years. From personal experience, it may initially seem daunting — slow and demanding — yet once you’re engrossed in these games, it’s incredibly difficult to stop. They’ve masterfully achieved a delicate balance between frustration and exhilaration; completing a daunting task can evoke a peculiar sense of achievement, making you feel quite clever, just for moving a digger (in sand-flattening mode, no less) to displace a toppled port-a-loo from a road into a ditch. Humans are peculiar creatures.

Yet, it’s the subtle complexity that the game affords you that truly brings it to life. The careful control of a crane requires gentle touches to avoid disaster. You can sense your wheels spinning and straining through thick mud as you winch your way out, or manage the weight of a heavy steamroller navigating rough terrain due to a miscalculation. This is genuinely engaging. Furthermore, the addition of tactile layers, such as constructing bridges — which snap into place magnetically and then auto-assemble as you arrive with the needed materials — makes the previous games feel somewhat less inviting.

Apart from building bridges, you’ll also need to restore power supplies, clear wooded areas using massive machinery, and follow intricate schematics to navigate routes and repair damage. You’ll even fix broken gas pipelines by gathering color-coded debris and transporting it to recycling facilities for new pipe joints. How thrilling! Each new objective presents layers of puzzles to unravel: strategizing the route to your destination, identifying required vehicles, maintaining balance along the way, and organizing, collecting, and delivering materials — all of which grow more intricate as you advance. Thankfully, Saber has become quite adept at ensuring a smooth gameplay experience.

As you traverse these devastated landscapes, you’ll unlock bases for storing, retrieving, and acquiring new vehicles at the in-game shop. These bases serve as convenient access points to your fleet, reducing unnecessary back-and-forth trips and effectively functioning as a fast-travel option (there’s even a fascinating truck that allows you to spawn vehicles remotely).

You can swiftly zoom into the cockpit of any of your deployed vehicles via the map, which is quite convenient. Resources are also shared among stores, but you must take the initiative to ensure proper restocking! Considering the numerous elements in play, it’s impressive how smoothly everything operates. Mostly.

There are some minor issues scattered throughout, primarily an external camera that can occasionally prove troublesome when attempting to view the entirety of large objects like a crane. It’s not a major flaw, but it does seem that a slight zoom-out feature would be beneficial to alleviate this. Additionally, there were multiple instances where materials like concrete slabs encountered minor glitches while suspended on a rope. Again, nothing critical and, frankly, to be anticipated with such complex mechanics.

At this juncture, we must highlight that this is one of the most visually stunning games we’ve experienced on consoles in quite some time. While it may not be the absolute pinnacle of AAA graphics, witnessing a sunset in just the right light or traversing lush forests during a rainstorm is undeniably captivating. In fact, let’s amend that—it’s strikingly AAA-stunning most of the time.

There are numerous impressive deformation effects at play; sand spills realistically from a tipper as it unloads, and reflections and volumetric effects work hard to create landscapes that truly appear devastated. We’ve never encountered so much debris in a game; these environments are incredibly detailed. Consequently, all these elements combine with the intricate loops of exploration and repair work, the joy of cleaning up, and an oddly moving soundtrack, resulting in a genuinely thrilling experience. It’s intense and immersive if you allow yourself to be drawn in.

At times, the atmosphere here resonates more with Death Stranding than the Digger Championship 2025-styled gameplay you might expect. As you fall into a focused rhythm, hopping into your scout jeep to carefully navigate a perilous section of the map, battling the elements until you establish your first base, you create a foothold for further advancement. There are certainly those quiet, reflective moments as you engage with nature to reconnect various points. Well, somewhat alone.

RoadCraft permits you to automate and assign tasks to a bot crew, charting routes between points to transport materials once you’ve cleared the area. This adds another enjoyable aspect, even if it mainly involves having extra vehicles on the road to maneuver around or engage in a bit of road-rage.

We should mention a slight grievance regarding the automated route-planning feature as, despite our careful mapping, vehicles often get stuck, compelling you to frequently revisit menus to adjust or clear routes. This could certainly be fine-tuned, as it can be quite exasperating when it occurs while you’re managing an overturned crane truck amid a rockslide. Just part of the experience.

With an extensive campaign filled with side missions, and the option to play with up to three other players in multiplayer, this is undoubtedly the developers’ most ambitious off-road simulation project to date. It effectively realizes the potential of previous attempts in this genre. While it diverges enough that some fans might prefer the older titles—lacking micromanagement aspects like fuel which some might consider a dilution of gameplay—it remains the most diverse, enjoyable, and visually stunning of the series.

If you haven’t yet explored any of Saber Interactive’s “Runner” titles, we believe RoadCraft represents a new pinnacle for the developers, even if it isn’t officially categorized within the same series. It captures the essence that makes MudRunner and SnowRunner so endlessly replayable while carefully building upon it to create a more expansive experience, offering adventure, excitement, and the breathtaking spectacle of massive storms that drive you onward through muck and obstacles.

Conclusion

RoadCraft combines the intricate off-road enjoyment of MudRunner and SnowRunner with engaging micro-management and construction elements, culminating in a superb experience that stands as the developer’s best vehicle simulation to date. Featuring eight vast maps filled with desolate environments and formidable challenges, an extensive range of complex vehicles to master, and cooperative gameplay to enhance the fun, this is an exhilarating adventure—an expansive sandbox brimming with excitement, depth, and challenges galore.